Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Politics of Status in International Development

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

General Abstract Nations categorized as "lower income countries" or "less developed countries" by international organizations tend to receive generous financial assistance and special treatment from the international community. As countries 'graduate' from these to higher categories, the shift is viewed positively by the international community and, in turn, often results in receiving additional social and material advantages. Faced with this tradeoff, some countries attempt to remain within the developing categories, while others strive to be categorized as developed. The PI explains why economic elites, like donors and investors, are so influenced by these classifications and, in turn, why countries pursue strategies designed to change their classifications. The project illustrates how countries balance their material interests with their desire for improved international status and traces how such status hierarchies emerge. To study this phenomenon, the PI draws on cross-national data, a lab experiment administered to economic experts, and interviews with government bureaucrats in multiple countries. The project highlights how institutions like the World Bank and United Nations -- whether intentionally or unintentionally -- affect the opportunities and strategies available to developing countries. The findings provide useful insight about how bureaucratic decision making might help create or maintain a country's development classification, which, in turn, influence economic elites who refer to these systems when making policy decisions. Technical Abstract Despite the assumed importance of economic development status in the international relations literature, scholars have relatively scant understanding of the conditions under which such status might motivate state behavior. In particular, such status might affect the types of strategies countries adopt to obtain a particular status. The PI speaks to both questions by studying the status politics of developing countries. The research focuses on how specific states are classified by international organizations. The first part of the project explains why such classifications significantly affect the way elite economic actors perceive and interact with these countries. The PI tests an original cognitive-strategic theory using cross-national data that utilizes the arbitrary thresholds and shocks to data as sources of identification. The PI also administers a lab experiment conducted on an elite sample to investigate the question. The second part of the project investigates the strategic responses of countries either to seek or to avoid certain classifications of economic development status. The PI uses cross-national data analysis and interviews with government bureaucrats in multiple countries to assess how states balance their desire for economic development status with material interests.